Just Another Companion
by Alice Madison Parker
Summary: There are a three things certain in the Doctor's life. One, he saves people. Two, he always has a companion. Three, the companion leaves. Suicide reference and a death. OC companion
1. Arrival

Alice swung her legs over the railing of Serpentine Bridge. It was quite early in the morning, mist rising from the water, and very much quiet, save the one or two random joggers, but they never bothered her. They probably didn't even see her. She kept swinging her legs, lips mouthing the same words over and over. _London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down. My fair lady._

Big Ben rang seven.

She knew why she was here. She knew why she had to fall, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Even though there was nothing left for her, nothing waiting for her.

"That looks dangerous."

The unfamiliar male voice was almost enough to startle her into the river. Almost, but not quite. Psychologically, what did that say? Something in her subconscious didn't want her to die. Out of common courtesy, Alice turned to look at the man before addressing him, though not out of contempt or annoyance, just innocent curiosity complete with a tilt of her head.

"Sorry? What looks dangerous?" Her voice was soft, almost wispy, dripping with grey lethargy, and laced with a very obvious Californian accent. Why was he talking to her? No one talked to her, not this morning. It was confusing. Normally, the world left her to her own devices. Who was this man to talk to her?

"Sitting on that edge there. Looks dangerous. Like you might fall." The man talked so simplistically but not in a patronizing way, just pointing out the facts.

Alice sighed and stared straight ahead again. "I might." She didn't sound too convinced. She wasn't being a petulant child either, though her words carried an air of a shrug. Tired, that's what she was. Just plain tired of living.

The man stood next to her, leaned on his elbows on the railing. He didn't look at her but stared off in the same direction she did. When he spoke, he didn't address her, talked like he was talking to himself. "Do you want to fall?"

Again, his words startled her. She remembered when her therapist used to ask her that question except, this time, the question was spoken with the same innocence she gave him not too long ago. Adults didn't have innocence; they had intentions, always with the end game on their mind. "I don't know. I thought I did."

"Why?"

"I ran out of places to go. My Farewell tour is over, so I have to leave. Permanently. That was the deal I made with myself." That she did. Visited people she'd never met before, been to Paris, Italy, Germany, ate food, saw art. It was a good last few months. Once she ran out of places, there was no reason to stay.

That struck a chord in the man. If Alice was looking, she'd have seen his empathetic look. He knew something, but she didn't know he knew. It was all very familiar to the man, traveling before meeting up with Death. Running away. "Ah. Visited all the places on Earth you wanted to?"

Earth? That word puzzled her. Why would he use the word 'Earth'? Where else would she go? "Yes. Now there's no more. No place for me." Those words fell from her lips, weighed down on her soul. Familiar words.

The man smiled and tweaked his bow tie before asking, nonchalantly, "Do you want to see more places?"

Blink. What? Surely, he was joking. Alice spoke slowly, not even trying to hide her confusion. "There is no more."

"There's the whole universe." He grinned and held his arms out wide.

She blinked again. He seemed to take that as an invitation to continue. Without waiting for her to say anything, he turned around and started walking back toward the park. "Come along. My gal is never wrong about these things," he said, raising an arm to beckon her.

"Your girl?" Even though she knew to be afraid of strangers, she had nothing to lose. So, why not see what this man was saying about the universe. Something about seeing the universe. Him and his girl. Whoever that was. So, Alice spun around and hopped off the bridge railing, trailed after the man. Never once did he turn back to make sure she was following him. He seemed very confident that she would trail after.

It wasn't long before Alice noticed something rather out of place. "What is that?" A very old style, British, blue Police Box by the looks of it. In the middle of Hyde Park. How peculiar.

"This is my TARDIS." The man sounded so proud, looked proud, propping his elbow on the structure, leaning on his hand. Proud and smug, like a father gloating over his child's greatness. Or something of the like.

"Tardis?" A what? What's a Tardis? She'd never heard of such a thing before. It wouldn't have surprised her if it was some top secret government thing.

"A time traveling machine."

Oh, that made much more sense. Kind of. Not what she was thinking, but it made a smidgen of sense. TARDIS must have been an acronym, not necessarily a name. He did seem to have stressed the word differently than she had. "She's beautiful," she said, walking around the box, trailing her fingers over the worn wood. Such a gorgeous blue.

The man startled, almost slipping out of his pose. "How'd you know the TARDIS is a she?" Most companions didn't give the TARDIS a gender until he told them, didn't know she was a living being.

She stuck her hands on her hips, the first show of spark in the meeting. "All transportation devices are female. Don't you know that?" It was all very common sense to her. An ex-boyfriend was a mechanic, so all cars were named after females. So were airplanes, ships, trains. They were all female.

The man looked embarrassed, out of sorts, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Ah, well. No. You'd think I'd have picked up a thing or two from you humans by now." They never ceased to amaze him.

"Sorry?"

"Never mind. So? What do you say? Endless wonder? Or do you want to go back to sitting on the bridge? Literally a bridge, not a ship bridge. Like a space ship. Oh, Enterprise. No, that would rip a hole in the universe. Best not."

She didn't have a clue what he was talking about. For a moment, she was ready to decline, old doubts and hammered in warnings pulling her back. Then it hit her. Really hit her. No one would miss her. She'd been gone for months and no one was looking for her. She was free to do whatever she wanted, even get in a large Police Call Box with this stranger. He seemed harmless enough to travel with. A madman with a box. Well, it'd give her more places to go, people to meet, things to see. If he was right.

Alice nodded slowly. "Okay."

Her answer didn't seem to faze him, like he knew she was going to say yes all along. He grinned and pushed the right side of the door. Despite the sign saying "Pull to Open". Before he let her in, he turned around, holding a finger in the air like he forgot to mention something.

"What's your name?"

She tilted her head and smiled a Cheshire smile. About time he asked. "I'm Alice Parker. What's yours?"

He liked that. Spunk, hidden under that shy exterior. It'd take a while to crack it, but he would. He would. The man opened the door and stepped back, waving her inside. "Well, Parker. Just call me the Doctor.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.

This has been weighing heavily on my mind the last few days. I don't plan on doing their adventures, that would require a whole lot of thinking and planning from me, despite the fact that almost all the rules are thrown out the window with Who. I may write her goodbye, if I ever get around to fully thinking it through, but don't take that as a promise.

Read and review, please.


	2. Departure

Behind her, River and the Doctor were arguing in hushed tones. The TARDIS takes them to places for a reason, right? So, why did she bring them to a planet that required a blood sacrifice to leave? What did that box see that the others couldn't? Alice glanced uneasily between her bickering friends and the tribe of Quyolda surrounding them. A very intimidating tribe that didn't seem like they would bend to any of the Doctor's usual tactics. In fact, the Doctor might not even be able to get them out of this one.

"I'll go. I volunteer." Alice stepped forward. That stopped them from bickering. If she turned around, she'd see their stares of dread and disbelief, but she didn't. Instead, she looked the Quyolda chief in his four eyes. "I will be your sacrifice," she said. Her back was straight, but her hands were shaking in their fists. Scared, but putting on a brave front for her Doctor.

"Parker, what are you doing?"

Alice looked over her shoulder and smiled sadly. Would he understand? She had to do this. "I understand my true purpose now. You saved me, Doctor, and now I get to return the favor. I get to save you." Equivalent exchange, except it really wasn't. Not in the overall scheme of things. How can one human life match up to two Time Lords and a TARDIS? Still, it was something, as much as she could give. It was all she could give. Years after trying to fall off the bridge, but now she was ready to die, not for loneliness this time, but for the sake of him, for wanting life instead of wanting death.

Two Quyolda marched up to her, their faces as passive and intimidating as the rest, and grabbed her arms roughly. She didn't resist but took the pain, trying to turn it to courage. Faintly, she heard the cry of outrage from the Doctor. It was futile. She made up her mind. She would save him, River Song, and the TARDIS. The universe still needed them. More Quyolda rushed forward past her and her escorts, probably to stop the Doctor.

"Your Excellency, I will not run. You have my word, but may I first have my farewells?" Alice asked, voice clear and steady as she could make it. She had to try to put the Doctor to rest before he made things worse.

Cheif Pa'oon stared at her, appeared to weigh her words and her body language. After what seemed like hours, he nodded slightly. The Quyolda at her side released her. Alice curtseyed and turned around, eyes crinkling in amusement at the sight behind her. The Doctor had himself and River surrounded by Quyolda, their weapons trained on the duo. This wasn't the first time he got himself in this exact predicament. However, this was not the time for amusement.

"Doctor, you must understand. This is something I have to do." She approached him slowly. The two at her side followed but did not touch her. Her word was good only so far it seemed. "The universe needs _you_."

"Please, don't do this," the Doctor pleaded. "There has to be another way. I'll find another way." River stayed silent, recognizing the moment as something personal, something not to be intruded on. She did, however, keep an eye on the Quyolda surrounding them, fingers drumming on her gun.

"Not this time."

"Alice..."

That was the first time he ever called her by her first name. It almost unravelled her resolve.

"I - I wish I could have seen more, you know? I wish I could . . . could stay forever." Alice forced herself to smile, to be cheerful and upbeat for him. "But you know better than most. We don't stay forever." She pushed her way through the guards. They didn't lower their weapons, but they did part to let her pass. "If there was another way, I would listen, but there isn't." A tear ran down her cheek. "Even you, O Brilliant One, can't bluff your way out of this one."

"I can't let you throw your life away," he whispered, words ragged.

"Oh, Doctor. You glorious man." She took his hands in hers and rubbed circles on the back of them with her thumbs. "Yes, you gave me life, showed me the stars, made things colorful again. I'm not throwing it away. I gladly trade mine for yours. Don't you see?" That was love. She would always remember the man who saved her, extended her life by years.

A soft laugh escaped her. He looked pained, so close to tears but at the same time not. How many companions did he have to leave behind? How many left him? Oh, the curse of living forever, seeing the people you love vanish. Always alone. Did it desensitize him to lose so much? Alice rose up onto her toes and kissed him softly, a kiss of gratitude, of farewell, of pure and innocent love.

She lowered herself, patted his cheek, and stepped back. Hm, kissing a married man in front of his wife. A wife who was as comfortable with a gun as her husband wasn't. Risky, but she trusted her. "River, please take care of him. You already know you do, but please, for my peace of mind."

River couldn't be angry at the girl for kissing her husband. Their relationship wasn't like that; it wasn't a threat to hers. "Do you know me to do any less, Wonderland?" she quipped, trying one of her signature smirks, but even Alice could hear her words wobbled with emotion, see that her eyes weren't committed, throwing the effect off balance.

"Doctor, give your TARDIS a kiss for me. I'm sorry I didn't get to say good-bye properly. She'll understand, won't she?" she asked hopefully.

"She will." He took in a deep breath and released it slowly, reaching up to pat her on the head, ruffled her hair. Alice closed her eyes and tried to burn it to memory. This would be the last time he'd ever do that to her. The Quyolda guards firmly grasped her shoulders. It was time.

Alice approached the chief, held her head up high and spoke confidently. "I submit myself to the Quyolda as a sacrifice, in exchange for safe passage for my companions to leave." She tried to block out any noise that was coming from behind her. The less she thought about leaving, the easier it was going to be. Her goodbyes were finished. All that was left was the deed.

"I accept your honorable sacrifice." Chief Pa'oon subtly stressed the word 'honorable'. For as long as he was chief, he'd never seen someone approach of their own accord. Admirable, she was. He would not forget her.

The audience parted, revealing an alter. Alice was led, placed onto the table. The stone was cold, almost freezing, under her skin. How long had it been since a body was laid to rest upon it? Is this what death feels like? Cold and heavy with anticipation, dread. She couldn't remember feeling like this before. Not sitting on the bridge. The stone of the bridge felt like a fire compared to this stone, but underneath all that dread was the layer of peace. This was the right decision. She believed that in her heart, even if she was about to die, even if she wanted to keep traveling.

A heavily decorated Quyolda took his place next to her. He must have been a priest, or the equivalent of one. The Quyolda began chanting, arms spread out wide. Alice turned her head to the side and could barely make out between bodies the Doctor and River Song climbing into the TARDIS. Just before disappearing, the Doctor turned around one last time, face pulled into despair. Could he see her? She smiled and mouthed _Thank you_. Be at peace, Doctor. He disappeared into the beautiful blue box. The chanting got louder. She turned her head, looking straight up. He was holding a dagger high in the air, point down. It started to fall.

Alice closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. _Live on, you wonderful man._

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own _Doctor Who._ I do own the Quyolda and Alice Parker.

So, I did, in fact, get around to writing her departure. From the moment of Alice's conception, I always knew that she'd sacrifice herself for the Doctor; I just didn't know how. Yes, I pulled a sentence from _The Hunger Games,_ but it seemed fitting.

A little note about the first chapter that I didn't get around to mentioning. That chapter is actually a fictional autobiography. Doctor Who saved my life when I was in too deep. So, this story has a very special place in my heart.

As always, please review after reading.


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